Beach & Pool Makeup from Cargo Swimmables

Last Sunday, Jeff said to me before we left the house for Gloucester, “You’re wearing makeup to the beach?”. I almost always wear at least some makeup to the beach. When I lived in New York and shared a house on Fire Island, almost all women on Fire Island wore makeup and jewelry to the beach. That’s just how it was done. So I haven’t changed much since then.

However, makeup has changed since then. There’s much more beach and pool friendly makeup out there. And one brand in particular has an entire water-resistant line: Cargo Swimmables. I received a number of products from the line to try out, and that was the makeup I was wearing to the beach last weekend.

Swimmables Longwear Eye Shadow Sticks

Swimmables Eye Shadow Sticks come in 8 shades, mainly neutrals including a navy blue and a lovely, summery aqua called Paradise Bay. In fact, I wrote about the Shadow Sticks last year here. I didn’t realize that I got a duplicate of Botany Bay, a lovely pink-mauve shade, until after I used it. I would have given it away because it is such a great everyday shade, I feel bad hogging two of them for myself. (Paradise Bay and Botany Bay are in the photo above.)

Read my review from last year for details, but in a nutshell the Swimmables Longwear Eye Shadow Sticks go on like butter. Once you apply it, you have about 20 seconds to blend it – one key reason why they stay put and last for hours. And they are very pigmented (one of the reasons Jeff noticed my makeup – I was wearing the aqua shadow, Paradise Bay ;). They don’t crease, and though they’re called water resistant, they stay on for me after swimming in the ocean.

Each stick contains 1g and is priced at $20. A little goes a long way so they are lasting me a long time.

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Isododecane, Ozokerite, Dimethicone, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Polyethylene, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Tin Oxide, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite. May Contain (+/-):mica(Ci 77019),titanium Dioxide(Ci 77891), Iron Oxides(Ci 77499, Ci 77492, Ci 77491), Blue 1 Lake(Ci 42090).

Swimmables Eye Pencils

I love me an eye pencil that goes on smoothly, and Cargo Swimmables Eye Pencils fill the bill. They glide on, so easy to apply!. I received two shades:

• Lake Como: blue
• Pebble Beach: brown

I love them both. The blue actually looks good with my blue-grey eyes, and I needed a deep brown pencil, so yay! There are 12 shades total. I’m planning to buy the grey shade called Grey Lake once I finish my old Esteee Lauder Doublewear Pencil because Cargo Swimmables Eye Pencils go on much smoother.

Like the Shadow Sticks, the Eye Pencils are rated 5 stars, and the reviews are raves for ease of application and long wear.

$18 for 1.2 g.

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Ozokerite, Polyethylene, Isododecane, Phenyl Trimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Propylene Carbonate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide. May Contain (+/-): Mica(CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide(CI 77891), Iron Oxides(CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines(CI 77007), Blue 1 Lake(CI 42090), Yellow 5 Lake(CI 19140), Carmine(CI 75470)

Swimmables Longwear Foundation

Swimmables Longwear Foundation is an absolutely featherweight foundation! It can be applied with fingers, blending sponge or brush. I would call it medium coverage, and it’s buildable. It stays on after swimming in the ocean. Amazing.

My only complaint is that it doesn’t have sunscreen in the formula which seems odd for a foundation meant to be worn to the beach or pool. What I do is mix the foundation with ultra lightweight Coola Sun Silk Drops SPF 30.

Swimmables Longwear Foundation comes in 8 shades. Unfortunately, they were out of my shade, #20 Light Beige, so I received #10 Fair and #30 Nude and I’ve been mixing them to approximate my shade.

I’m going to give Nude to my friend, Audrey, because it is exactly her shade. I can tell just by looking that it’ll be perfect. Shade 10 Fair truly is Fair – it’s very light, for pale skin. One of these days, I will pick up 20 Light Beige because this really is a terrific foundation.

Swimmables Longwear Foundation comes in a heavy glass pump bottle. It contains 1.0 fl. oz. and is priced at $34.

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Water (Aqua), Talc, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Isododecane, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sodium Chloride, Polymethylsilsesquioxane,Phenoxyethanol, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Peg/Ppg-18/18 Dimethicone,Hydrogen Dimethicone, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disodium Edta, Aluminum Hydroxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Tropolone, Alcohol, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Communis (Pear) Fruit Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract,Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract. May Contain (+/-): Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).

Swimmables Water Resistant Blush

Sadly, the Swimmables Water Resistant Blush that I received was smashed. But I really wanted to try it so I repaired it with alcohol. Although it isn’t quite as perfectly flat as it would normally be, it’s fine otherwise.

The shade I received is called Bali. Cargo describes Bali as “medium rose pink”. On me, it’s bright pink! It’s probably the brightest blush that I own – another reason why Jeff noticed I was wearing makeup when we went to the beach on Sunday. I apply Bali with a fan brush, but it’s still bright. And Cargo isn’t kidding: this blush is long wearing, it isn’t going anywhere! In spite of the heat, humidity and sweating and my swim in the ocean, the blush was evident on my skin for hours.

The blush also comes in two other shades:

• Ibiza, shimmering hot pink (that must be super bright!)
• Los Cabos, soft tangerine

Here’s how Cargo describes ingredients and what they do to make this such a long wearing blush:

• Silicone-coated pigments provide better adhesion to the skin and help withstand water for extended wear.
• L-Lysine, an amino acid found naturally in the skin, helps increase the blush’s long-wearing and water-resistant properties.

Swimmables Water Resistant Blush comes in a silver metal compact, and it’s priced at $26. I think this compact of blush will last just about forever because you need so little and it lasts till you remove it.

Ingredients: Talc, Octyldodecyl Stearate, Lauroyl Lysine, Dimethicone, Zinc Stearate, Methicone, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Benzethonium Chloride, Tocopheryl Acetate. May Contain (+/-): Mica (Ci 77019), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850:1), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 27 Lake (Ci 45410), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140).

I’m wearing the mixture of shades 10 and 30 Cargo Swimmables Foundations, Pebble Beach eye pencil, Botany Bay eye shadow stick, and Bali blush.

Final Thoughts

The Swimmables collection also includes brow pencils, bronzer, lip pencils, and liquid matte lipstick in 6 shades. I’m impressed with the high quality of the makeup. Not only is it easy to apply, it feels ultra lightweight on my skin. And long wear is in no way an exaggeration.

There’s plenty of warm weather and swim time left this season. Have you tried Cargo Swimmables yet?

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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